Falling in Love with Jesus Again
I don’t know about you, but there is a part of me that wishes I could hear about Jesus for the very first time today. Do you remember the first time you heard about Jesus helping the woman caught in adultery? Do you remember the first time you read about him weeping over Lazarus? Do you remember the first time someone preached to you about him looking out at the multitudes and having compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd? Do you remember the first time you were told about the cross, “Father forgive them…”, and “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
Something happened to me over a period of time the more I learned about Jesus. I was slowly changed from a person who thought about my own needs to a person who began to concentrate on loving others. I was day by day transformed from a person who felt sad and alone to a person who knew someone loved me perfectly and continually. I was progressively falling in love with Jesus every single time I learned more about him and what he had done for my soul.
Is it possible for us to fall out of love with Jesus? I think it is. If we stop appreciating anything–our spouse, our job, our blessings, no matter what it may be – before long we will not be as moved within ourselves by their presence. This is why Christians can actually attend worship for weeks, months, and even years and remain totally unmotivated, unproductive, and unashamed.
I want to fall in love with Jesus all over again. I want to cry about the cross. I want to be inspired by his faithful last march into Jerusalem. I want to be empowered by his miraculous works. I want to be encouraged by his constant care and concern. I want to be excited about his return. I want to be humbled by his mercy. I want to be amazed by his wisdom. I want to be enraptured by his heavenly glory. I want to fall in love with him like I did the first time I realized everything about him.
What will it take for us to fall in love with Jesus all over again? I suggest we erase the chalkboard and open up the gospels as if we have never read them before. I suggest we approach listening to the preacher as if we are searching for Jesus in every sermon. I suggest we humble ourselves and see our sinfulness and realize how desperate we are for a Savior. I suggest we understand how lonely we are in this world without perfect love and open ourselves to the idea once more that it does in fact exist and that he is it.
When I think about Jesus, I mean when I really think about him, I can’t help but be in love with him. He is all there is. He is the only way, truth, and life both now and forever. He is the love of God manifested toward us. Take the world. Take everything. But give me Jesus!
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
—————————————————–
